Getting Out Of The Rut Day 2

Here's another look I've done with products that had been sitting unloved in my make up drawers. Products used (other than my staples which I will do a separate post about) were Mac Surf Baby! Cheek Powder in My Paradise, Barry M Dazzle Dust no. 26, Mac pigment in Spiritualize, Urban Decay 24/7 eye pencil in Vacancy and Mac Kissable Lipcolour in Exxxhibitionist.

 Here are the products I used:

I'm really enjoying this and will continue to post pictures. Hope you like them.

Getting Out Of The Rut Day 1

So today is the first day of me using some make up that's been sitting in my drawers unused. In this look I used (among my staples like foundation, powder, mascara and brow set gel which I have no need to mix up) Sephora Moonshadow Trio in Dusk Till Dawn, Urban Decay 24/7 eyepencil in Rockstar, Accessorize Merged Baked Blusher in Wowzer and Mac Dazzleglass Creme in If It's Pink.

Feel free to let me know what you think, but please go easy on me, I haven't done this in a long time.

So that's day one ticked. Onto day two, the adventure continues!

Haul Pictures

I am so happy we can finally get Essence in the UK! In case you didn't know, Essence is now being sold in Wilkinson. My small local branch only has a small display, but I popped into a bigger one that had a much bigger one. Today I want to show you what I picked up as well as a couple of other bits from Topshop, Superdrug and Boots.

So from Essence I got these cute nail stickers for when I'm too lazy to do some stamping, and a nail polish called Laser Show which is a glitter topper with silver microshimmer and black glitter. From Topshop I picked up two glitter polishes called Dreamlike and Myth.

Also from Essence, I got their Blush Up powder blush that bears a very strong resemblance to Mac's blush ombres. It's very pigmented, just great for summer. I also got the new Sleek palette, Rio Rio and Chanel Illusion D'Ombre in New Moon, one of the new summer shades. I have another shade to show you, which I'll be writing a full review on very soon.

Have you been buying any make up or nail polish lately?

My Current Favourites - Part 1 : Make Up

As it's been a long time since I last blogged frequently, I thought I'd put together a couple of posts about the products I currently use the most. I'm starting off with make up and will also show you some of my nail related favourites.

First up is Chantecaille White Tiger powder which is just possibly the most luxurious face powder you can find. In the picture below it looks a little sad as the gorgeous picture's almost completely disappeared, but you can see a picture of how it used to look here (need to scroll down a little). I love this powder, it's really nice, well, I guess it had better be anyway since it cost £88! It appears to have been discontinued now, which is a shame, but luckily I have a few back ups of it.

While still on the subject of face powder, my favourite brush to apply it with has been the Guerlain Meteorites brush. This particular one is an older, limited edition one, but they're pretty much all the same except for their colour.

See what else I've been loving lately after the jump!

Want It! Christian Dior Mystic Metallics Collection for Fall 2013

It seems that the weather in the UK has decided that it's already autumn, so it's very appropriate for me to continue showing you the upcoming fall collections. Today I have the Dior one to tell you about. It's called Mystic Metallics and it features 2 beautiful eyeshadow palettes as well as some new mono eyeshadows called Diorshow Fusion Mono which I suspect is Dior's take on Chanel's Illusion D'Ombres, cream eyeshadows with a bouncy texture.

There are also some new nail polishes including a green magnetic one (a little late to the game, but I personally do like magnetic nail polishes, they're the lazy way to create cool nail art), and 13 new shades of Diorblush. You can find the entire collection details over at Totally Blond.

See lots more pictures after the jump!

Want It! Lancome L'Absolu Desir Collection for Fall 2013

Lancome are always coming out some gorgeous limited edition blushes and the fall collection is no different. Just look at that pretty powder! The rest of the collection is also nice, although I think I have enough lipsticks for the next 10 years, so I will probably skip them. There are also 3 nail polishes in the collection, but I think thopse are permanent shades. Kate Winslet is looking gorgeous in the promo pictures, very sophisticated and classy.

The collection is launching in August 2013.

See more pictures after the jump!

Want It! Guerlain Voilette de Madame Collection for Fall 2013

Hello! Yes, I'm still alive. Sorry I've been MIA, I've had a very busy last few weeks and I've also seem to have gone off make up and blogging. I'm sure I will get my mojo back eventually, but until then, I'm afraid posts will be few and far between. Sorry.

For now I have images and details of Guerlain's upcoming fall collection named Voilette de Madame. A very classy, feminine and elegant collection with strong colours, absolutely beautiful. The star item is a stunning Blush G and there are some beautiful new Rouge G lipsticks and Gloss D'Enfer glosses, and a whole lot of new 2 colour eyeshadow palettes that are permanent additions to the line.

The collection is due out in August and these are the details:

Guerlain 4-Colours Blush – New & Limited Edition

Lipstick Rouge G – Limited Edition

#860 Madame Batifole – bright fuchsia
#861 Madame Flirte – pink red
#862 Madame Reve – deep pink

Lip Gloss D’Enfer- New Shades

#860 Madame Batifole – shimmery fuchsia
#861 Madame Flirte – shimmery red
#863 Madame Fascine – deep plum

Nail Lacquer – New Shade

#860 Madame Batifole – fuchsia

L’Ecrin 2 Couleurs Eyeshadow – New

#01 Two Rock
#02 Two Stylish
#03 Two Extravagant
#04 Two Gossip
#05 Two Candy
#06 Two Parisian
#07 Two Lovely
#08 Two Spicy

Eye Pencil

#01 Black Jack
#02 Jackie Brown
#03 Deep Purple
#04 Katy Navy
#05 Amber Silver

See lots more pictures after the jump!

My Mac In Extra Dimension Haul and Swatches - Blushes

Another post about my Mac In Extra Dimension haul, this time it's the blushes. While I'm not doing an in depth review, I have included the swatches for you to see. All of these have now sold out on the Mac website, but are still available from Debenhams and House of Fraser among others.

Although I'm not doing a proper review, I have to add that I'm not too happy about these blushes, they swatched badly and don't seem to apply much better with a brush either. I haven't tried them all yet, but the ones I've tried hardly showed up on me and those were the brighter ones! They don't have that soft, cream-like texture as the skinfinishes, which I guess is good on one hand, especially if you don't like metallic looking cheeks, but also not that great on the other hand.

Anyway, these cost £19 for 6.5 g and are all limited edition.

See more pictures including swatches after the jump!

Want It! Mac Tropical Taboo Mineralize Collection for Summer 2013

I was so excited to find out about Mac's upcoming mineralize collection, I had to share the news with you straight away! I love mineralize products and this collection has a lot of new goodies for me to look forward to.I'm mostly interested in the mineralize skinfinishes, blushes and eyeshadows, but there are also some mineralize lipsticks, cremesheen glasses, lip pencils and other goodies included in this collection.

Not actual promo picture

Due to be released in July in the US (and I'm guessing August in the UK), here are the collection details:

Mineralize Lipsticks

• Lady at Play – Mid-tone cool tangerine
• Divine Choice – Mid-tone cool pink cream
• Midnight Mambo –Intense violet
• Luxe Naturale – Light beige cream
• Glamour Era – Mid-tone warm brown frost

Cremesheen Glass

• Calypso Beat –Pale neutral pink
• Fever Isle – Bright red coral
• Japanese Spring - Pale mid-tone pink
• Narcissus – Mid-tone eggplant

Lip Pencil

• Hip ‘n’ Happy – Mid-tone blue pink
• Have to Have It – Soft warm beige
• Heroine – Bright purple
• Ablaze – Bright apricot

Mineralize Skinfinish

• Adored – Coral with light beige pearlized pigments
• Rio – Bronze with bright pink pearlized pigments
• Lust – Pale pink with cranberry pearlized pigments
• Soft ‘n Gentle (permanent) – Gilded peach bronze
• Gold Deposit (permanent) – Soft reflective golden bronze

Mineralize Blush

• Sweet Samba –Dark pink with tan pearlized pigments
• Exotic Ember – Orange with bronze pearlized pigments
• Simmer- Burnt rose with peach/gold pearlized pigments

Mineralize Eyeshadow

• Dare to Bare – Light cream with gold pearlized pigments
• Carribean –Rose with pink and red pearlized pigments
• Cha-Cha-Cha – Deep blue green with green pearlized pigments
• Time to Tango- Lavendar with silver pearlized pigments
• Bossa Blue – Royal blue with brown pearlized pigments
• Tropica - Silver blue with purple pearlize pigments

Kohl Power Eye Pencil

• Feline – Rich Black
• Orpheus – Intense black with gold pearlized pigments

Brush

• 187 Brush – Duo fibre face brush
• 159 Brush - Duo fibre face brush
• 287 Brush - Duo fibre eyeshadow brush

In Extreme Dimension Lash

• Black

Credit goes to Maneater Makeup

Guerlain Rose Aux Joues Blush Duo 06 Red Hot Swatches and Review

This is the last one of the (not so) new Guerlain Blush Duos that I've finally managed to get my hands on. After reviewing all the other shades I didn't feel like paying full price for this, so waited until I could find it much cheaper on eBay. I have to say though I'm actually pretty happy with this shade.

Red Hot is made up of 2 shades, a reddish brown shade and a lighter coral-red. Both of them have a satin finish, no shimmer to speak of, but they do give a nice sheen. I have worn them separately as blushes, but you can also use the darker shade to contour and the lighter shade as a blush. The beauty of this is that you can do whatever you like.

Both of them have okay pigmentation, I find that they apply better than they swatch (I use my fingers to swatch usually). I didn't have to be too careful not to overdo them, but they can be layered, so they will work well for darker skintones.

These blushes cost £32.50 and you get 6 g of product which is not huge. I probably wouldn't pay full price for any of them, although they are nice, but I feel there are better blushes around for a lot less money.

If you have missed my reviews of the other shades, you can check them out here: Peach Boy, Over Rose, Pink Punk, Chic Pink and Golden High.

See more pictures including swatches after the jump!

Want It! Laura Mercier Folklore Collection for Summer 2013

I like the look of the upcoming Laura Mercier summer collection, especially the Illuminating Eye Colours. I have 4 of the previous ones (as in all 4), if you want to read about them, click here. The new colours seem quite similar, but may well be different enough to buy. The texture of these eyeshadows is really lovely, similar to the Mac Extra Dimension shades, but even better.

I also like the look of the lip crayons and the baked blush bronze.

Here are the collection details:

Illuminating Eye Colour

Eye colour with a multi-dimensional, luminous pearl finish with a soft, bouncy texture for excellent colour pay-off and a smooth, even application.

• Fire Glow – copper shimmer
• Sun Glow – gold with shimmer
• Earth Glow – deep brown

Lip Crayon

A smooth lip colour that provides pure, long-wearing colour to lips in three on-trend shades for summer. With a convenient purse-friendly package, Lip Crayon never needs sharpening, making it perfect for travel and touch-ups on the go.

• Folklore – fuchsia
• Maya Sun – orange pink
• Burnt Clay – deep brown

Baked Blush Bronze

Laura Mercier Baked Blush Bronze is a baked powder with five complimentary shades that together provide the perfect, natural colour for cheeks and face. Each tile is hand-mixed with a unique design.

Creme Eye Liner 

An ultra-smooth, water-proof creamy eye liner that applies with the ease and smooth silky finish of a gel and the precision of a liquid liner. Smudge and transfer-resistant, this long-wearing formula goes on “foolproof” with the Laura Mercier Angled Eye Liner Brush.

• Canard – teal
• Cobalt – vivid midtone blue

Faux Lash Mascara

• Sierra Brown – chocolate brown
• Black – black

Long Lash Mascara

• Bleu – true cobalt

Angled Eye Liner Brush

Specifically designed by Laura Mericer to work with the Crème Eye Liner, the Angled Eye Liner Brush uses high quality synthetic fibers in a narrow, exact point with a thin profile that creates the most precise looks.

Body Bronzing Makeup

Available for a limited time, Laura Mercier Body Bronzing Makeup instantly reveals healthy, radiant, bronzed skin without long-term commitment.

See more pictures after the jump!

Chantecaille Save The Sharks Palette Review and Swatches

Here it is, the newest Chantecaille palette, this time it's in aid of sharks. Probably not the species we think of when we hear about endangered animals, but according to Chantecaille, up to 73 million sharks are killed every year for their fins. As with every special edition palette, Chantecaille donated a percentage of proceeds to the relevant charities. This time 5% of proceeds from the Save The Sharks Palette will be donated to the BLOOM Association to ban unregulated shark fin trade.

The palette features 3 eye colours and a cheek colour, all of them made up of two colours (there's no overspray here!). Great White, the highlighter is a sandy beige with a white fin in the middle, Grey Reef is a glistening sandy grey with a lighter brown fin in the middle and Black Tip is a deep ocean blue with a black fin in the middle. Also includes Sea Anemone Cheek Shade, a golden coral color that is universally flattering on all skin tones, inspired by the underwater gardens of the tropical seas.

Despite reading not very positive reviews about the palette, I'm actually very happy with it. The eyeshadows aren't particularly unique, but they are nice colours, and they are smooth as butter. I did have some blending issues with the darker colours, but nothing major. The blush is my absolute favourite of the whole palette, it's a gorgeous coral shade, very pigmented and easy to use. It also has a light pink highlighter fin in the middle, but it's too small to use alone with a blush brush so I just mix the two shades together usually. The highlighter could be used with an eyeshadow brush though.

The palette costs $83 (approx. £55) in the US and £75 in the UK (I'll never understand why Chantecaille is so much more expensive in the UK), but I luckily managed to get mine for £40 on eBay. I'm very happy with it at that price, but I'm not prepared to pay the full UK retail price for Chantecaille products. Available from Space NK, Harrods, Liberty, Harvey Nichols.

See more pictures including swatches and a look I did with this palette after the jump!

Want It! Mac In Extra Dimension Collection April 2013 *WITH PROMO PICTURES*

I now have the promo pictures for Mac's upcoming In Extra Dimension collection, due in April in the US and May in the UK. The collection contains extra dimension eyeshadows, blushes and skinfinishes, all made from the same gelee powder as the previous two collections' products as well as Estee Lauder's gelee powder products.

Here are the collection details:

Extra Dimension Skinfinish
Double Definition - Soft shimmery gold / Patina bronze
Shape The Future - Pastel pink with iridescence / Soft brick with shimmer
Definitely Defined - Silvery pink / Soft rose with shimmer

Extra Dimension Eyeshadow
Zestful - Pale iridescent lime
Extra Silver - True silver
Dimensional Blue - Frosty blue
Opalesse - Opalescent white with pink pearlized pigments
Triple Impact - Opalescent lavender with violet pearlized pigment
Smoky Mauve - Mid-tone mauve

Extra Dimension Blush
Flaming Chic - Bright blue pink
Bareness - Rosy beige pink
At Dusk - Mid-tone rose pink
Fiery Impact - Burnt red bronze
Blazing Haute - Mid-tone peach

128 Brush - Split Fibre Cheek Brush

235 Brush - Split Fibre All Over Eye Brush

See more pictures after the jump!

Sleek Make Up Aqua Collection Mirrored Pink Blush Review and Swatches

Gah, I've been so busy these past few days, I've hardly been home, so that's why I haven't been posting much. I'm gonna quickly write this post up and then go to bed, I'm knackered. I know this is just a hobby, but I feel bad about not being able to blog. Hopefully next week will be a bit calmer.

The other day I showed you the eyeshadow palette from the Sleek Make Up Aqua Collection and today I've got the blush called Mirrored Pink. The blush comes in the same style cardboard box as the palette, and the compact itself is the regular black Sleek compact with the full size mirror in the lid.

Mirrored Pink is a frosty, slightly cool blue pink shade with fine gold shimmer, can't actually think of what other blush to compare it to. It's really nicely pigmented and smooth, not too powdery, and it wears very well. It is a bit frosty and it's quite easy to overdo, but it is a lovely blush. I have been using it for the past few days and it's very easy to wear. I did enclose a picture at the end of this post, but I wasn't wearing much else in the way of make up as I'd been to the pool, so excuse my disshivelled look please!

My only niggle about this product, and this might just be my compact, but I find it very hard to open it, so instead of trying to force it open with my nails, I'm now using a pair of nail scissors to pop the lid open. Shouldn't be necessary, but it could be a one off. At least it closes securily!

The blush costs £4.49 and you get a whopping 8 g, so it's still a brilliant bargain and it is really lovely. It's limited edition and is available from Superdrug and the Sleek Make Up website.

See more pictures including swatches after the jump!

Bobbi Brown Lilac Rose Shimmer Brick Review and Swatches

I've bought surprisingly small amount of make up lately which isn't like me at all, but this is one of the lovely things I did buy, Bobbi Brown's new Lilac Rose Shimmer Brick. You know how I love and collect Shimmer Bricks, so of course I couldn't not get this one, I just have to have them all.

Lilac Rose is part of the spring collection that I've already told you about here. I didn't get anything else, although there are undoubtedly some gorgeous bits and bobs in the collection. The Shimmer Brick comes in the usual square black packaging with a full size mirror in the lid. You have 5 different colour stripes, "featuring bright pink, golden pink, and icy pink pearl pigments perfect for light to medium skin tones. Each bar also doubles up as eye shadow." (Quoted from the Bobbi Brown website)

Despite its name, there is nothing lilac about this Shimmer Brick, but at least there is rose. Swirled together the shades give a frosty light rosey pink colour. This is definitely a highlighter, not really dark enough to be worn as blush, also it is rather frosty. In the pictures below I wore it on top of Bobbi Brown Maui Illuminating Bronzing Powder (by the way, Bobbi Brown, it's not a bronzing powder, it's a BLUSH!!!) and it gave me a nice sheen. It can be easy to overdo, so you definitely need a light hand when applying it.

It costs £32 for 10.3 which is the standard weight of Bobbi Brown Shimmer Bricks. It is a limited edition shade, but luckily Bobbi Brown collections don't sell out very quickly, so it is still available from Bobbi's website and some department stores.

See more pictures after the jump!

Too Faced Sweethearts Perfect Flush Blush Review and Swatches

First of all, I'd like to apologise in advance for the lack of posts in the coming few days (and as you could see there wasn't a new post yesterday either). It's school holiday this week in the UK and that means 3 children in the house. With several daytrips this week I won't have much time to write up reviews and by the evenings I usually feel really tired to type anything coherent. I have also not been feeling well (cold and sore throat), so not been feeling energetic at all.

Anyway, I do have a review for you today and it's the new gorgeous heart shaped blush from Too Faced. As soon as I saw the pictures, I knew I had to have it. I just love the design and the colours are really lovely too.

Too Faced Sweethearts Perfect Flush Blush is a baked heart shaped blush devided into 3 colours: rosy pink, coral and peach. All 3 shades are rather frosty, but not glittery. You can just about use the strips alone due to their size or you can mix them up to create a pinky coral glow. It isn't overly pigmented, so don't have to worry about overdoing it. I've found that it gives more of a glow rather than an obvious colour, but of course you can layer it on. It did seem to disappear after a few hours' wear to due its lightness, so longetivity isn't its strongest point. I think this is true to most baked products though.

The blush comes inside a very cute pink heart shaped cardboard compact and the outer box is also cute and pink. The packaging is exactly what you would expect from Too Faced, girly, pink, a bit kitsch, but ever so cute. You get a nice 5.5 g that should last you a good while. The blush costs £24 and I got mine from Beauty Bay, but Boots should be stocking it soon if not yet.

See more pictures including swatches after the jump!

Estee Lauder Pure Color Illuminating Powder Gelee Blush in Tease

The new Estee Lauder Pure Color Illuminating Powder Gelee Blush in Tease is so pretty. I love the design and the colour, so of course I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. It has taken me a while to use and review it, but I've finally managed.

Firstly, this is another one of the new gelee powder formula, so it's a powder, but feels and looks like a cream product. It is very metallic and gives a high sheen finish, so it's probably not for those who prefer their face products to be matte. It isn't glittery, but it's definitely rather shimmery.

I had a bit of trouble working out how to apply it best and it seems that the sponge applicator they provide with it is the best way to go about it. It doesn't pick up too much product and you can blend it out easily. When I tried using a regular blush brush, the result looked quite patchy. But with the applicator it looks nice and even yet not too heavy. I also found duo fibre brushes work well, but they give a much more subtle effect. With the sponge you need to be a bit careful not to overdo it, but if you do thin layers rather than try to pile it on, you'll be fine. The blush didn't last very long on me, it's practically disappeared after 5-6 hours of wear.

It's a lovely product, but even on my pale skin it's more of a highlighter than a blush. I haven't tried it on top of a powder blush, but I think it would work really nicely.

The blush costs £30 and you get 6 g which is actually more than previous illuminating powder gelees. It's still not a massive amount, but probably way more than you need. This is a limited edition product, so grab it while you can if you like what you see!

See more pictures including swatches after the jump!

Want It! Bobbi Brown Lilac Rose Collection for Spring/Summer 2013

Aah, just how gorgeous is the promo picture for Bobbi Brown's upcoming Lilac Rose collection for spring/summer? My heart skipped a beat when I saw it.

I don't want much from it, but that Shimmer Brick is going to be mine. It is called Lilac Rose (obviously) and it will be a worthy part of my Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick collection. It's so pretty!  I also love the Lilac Sparkle Eyeshadow.

I don't know when it's going to launch, but when it is, I'll be first in line!

See more pictures after the jump!

Guerlain Sakura Blush G - Cherry Blossom Blush Review and Swatches

As soon as I heard about Guerlain's (supposedly) Asia exclusive Sakura Blush G I knew I had to have it. What I didn't know was that it was actually being sold by Selfridges. I accidentally found a link to it on the Selfridges website and quickly snapped it up. I was lucky, it sold out that same day. I don't often order from Selfridges because I loathe to pay £4.95 for shipping, but I had to make an exception.

If you like Guerlain you may remember them releasing their original Blush G that was released 2 years ago with the spring collection. The new Sakura blush is basically the same, only it comes in a white compact with a white velvet bag and white box as well as a white handled little brush in the compartment below the blush, and of course the colours are different. This time it's all about pink. You get 4 strips, none of them really big enough to be used on their own, but you can use 2 or 3 or all 4 together if you wish. You get a coral-pink, a shimmery white, a shimmery darker rose and a shimmery lighter rose colour. Mixed together you get a lovely rosy glow. The blush smells of cherry blossom which is one of my favourite smells.

The swatches were very hard to see, the blush appeared to be a bit hard to pick up and not very pigmented on my arm, but on my cheeks it gives a nice rosy pink glow. It's not overly pigmented, but the colour is buildable. I don't see it working on darker skintones, but I guess it was never intended to anyway, Asia exclusive colours are often light as they're catered for light Asian skin. It is a tiny bit shimmery, but not very noticably and it's not metallic either. I'd definitely describe it more of a glow.

You get 8 g of product which is a lot, but equally it costs quite a lot too at £42. I'm happy I bought it, even with the extra £4.95 shipping charge, it's a lovely addition to my Guerlain collection.

I have absolutely no idea if this will be available anywhere else in the UK or whether Selfridges is getting in more stock, whether it's available at the counter or other department store, but if you do know, please let me know in the comments!

See more pictures including swatches and a look I did with this blush after the jump!

Want It! Mac In Extra Dimension Collection April 2013

I am so excited, this coming spring Mac is releasing yet another collection of their Extra Dimension eyeshadows, skinfinishes AND even blushes, in all new shades! (If you don't know what I'm talking about, I have reviewed previous collections here and here.) I have managed to find a picture of the skinfinishes and as I thought based on the descriptions the skinfinishes have split pans. Can't wait to find out more! I'm pretty sure I'm going to get everything though (maybe not the brushes).

The new split pan skinfinishes together with the pearlmatte powders from Archie's Girls

Here are the details. All credit goes to Mac-Guy and Specktra.

Extra Dimension Skinfinish
Double Definition - Soft shimmery gold / Patina bronze
Shape The Future - Pastel pink with iridescence / Soft brick with shimmer
Definitely Defined - Silvery pink / Soft rose with shimmer

Extra Dimension Eyeshadow
Zestful - Pale iridescent lime
Extra Silver - True silver
Dimensional Blue - Frosty blue
Opalesse - Opalescent white with pink pearlized pigments
Triple Impact - Opalescent lavender with violet pearlized pigment
Smoky Mauve - Mid-tone mauve

Extra Dimension Blush
Flaming Chic - Bright blue pink
Bareness - Rosy beige pink
At Dusk - Mid-tone rose pink
Fiery Impact - Burnt red bronze
Blazing Heat - Mid-tone peach

128 Brush - Split Fibre Cheek Brush

235 Brush - Split Fibre All Over Eye Brush